This invention relates to surgical instruments, and more particularly to coating surgical instruments with a silicone solution.
Surgical instruments are coated with a silicone solution to avoid pitting the surface and to lubricate certain instruments having moving parts such as clamps. In the past, surgical instruments have been placed on a mesh surface of a tray which is located in a shallow tub and the silicone solution is simply sprayed on the instruments by utilizing a baster-like device having a glass tube with a rubber bulb at one end. The excess solution drips through the mesh surface into the tub, and the instruments are allowed to air dry. Another manner of coating surgical instruments is to simply dip the instruments in a silicone solution and place them on a table for drying.
The problem with these methods of coating surgical instruments is that air drying is a relatively slow process, and only a small number of instruments may be coated at a time. It is thus desirable to provide an apparatus which will decrease drying time while increasing the number of instruments that may be coated.